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Large-Load Interconnection Cost
MW and market to study fees, security deposit, minimum-bill exposure and realistic energization year, from the Large-Load Cost Table.
Method
Every cell is read from the Large-Load Cost Table row for the market, compiled for What 50 MW costs in 15 markets with status as of 2026-08-21. Minimum-bill exposure is the sum over the contract term of the published minimum billing demand (85% of contract capacity for Dominion, 80% for Xcel and SRP, 75% for Duke, AEP Ohio’s 15,000 kW plus 85% above 25,000 kW), applied to the ramped contract capacity where a ramp is published, and dollarized at the demand charge you enter. Security scales with MW only where the source gives a per-MW figure; implied averages (ComEd, CenterPoint) are labelled implied. Cells the sources do not publish render as “not published”; nothing is estimated.
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Default assumptions come from the Large-Load Cost Table. Pro subscribers can save inputs. Institutional seats get the underlying series.
Articles that use this calculator

Dry Cooler or Cooling Tower: What the Water Bill Says in 15 Markets
A thousand gallons of water and sewer costs $24.80 in Douglas County, Georgia and $8.68 in Baton Rouge as of October 2026, and since a 50 MW open cooling tower needs about 300 million gallons a year, Open Factory's MEP Cost Table puts the gap at $3.6 million a year.

What 50 MW Costs in 15 US Markets
A 50 MW connection requested in Northern Virginia in 2026 energizes in 2033 after $75 million of collateral and a 14 year contract, while the same 50 MW in Houston posts no rule-mandated security and can be live in 2028, per Open Factory's Large-Load Cost Table as of August 2026.

The 2% Funnel: 474 GW Requested, 9 GW Approved, 5.8 GW Energized in ERCOT
Texas had about 474 GW of large-load interconnection requests as of August 2026, and ERCOT's March 26, 2026 status table shows 9.0 GW approved to energize and 5.8 GW energized, so about 2% has permission to draw power, as tracked in Open Factory's Large-Load Cost Table.

A Factory Owner's Guide to the PJM Capacity Charge
PJM's RTO capacity clearing price rose from $28.92 to $329.17 per MW-day in two auctions, so a 5 MW plant in Met-Ed territory pays about $568,000 for capacity in the delivery year starting June 1, 2026 against about $50,000 in 2024, per Open Factory's PJM Capacity Charge Estimator.

The $60 Million Deposit: How Equipment Slots Became Datacenter Currency
One slot for a 384 MW GE Vernova 7HA.02 turbine takes a $60 million reservation payment, 20% of a $300 million machine. GE Vernova ended June 2026 with 116 GW under contract, 63 GW as slot reservations, and $25.8 billion paid in advance, which Open Factory's MEP Cost Table carries.

Behind the Meter, In Front of the Queue: 90 GW Announced, 2 GW Running
Datacenter developers have announced about 90 GW of behind-the-meter generation across 59 US projects and about 2 GW of it runs, or 2.2%, while EIA's July 2026 inventory lists 68.1 GW of planned gas nationwide. Open Factory's Lead-Time Monitor forecasts what energizes by the end of 2028.

Recips vs Turbines vs Fuel Cells for a 100 MW Bridge
A 100 MW bridge plant over five years costs $96 per MWh on solid oxide fuel cells, $104 on gas reciprocating engines and $112 on aeroderivative gas turbines at 85% utilization and $3.78/MMBtu, with first power in 17, 27 and 30 months, per Open Factory's MEP Cost Table in 2026.

The 2 MW Plant Service Upgrade Nobody Budgets Right
A 400-person plant adding 2 MW of service pays $400k to $1.2M for the items the switchgear quote omits, and with the utility-owned pad-mount at 52 to 104 weeks the crane lands in week 74. Open Factory's Large-Load Cost Table shows the sequencing that pulls energization forward by 20 weeks.

1872, Foundational Industries and Hadrian: Three Blueprints for the Autonomous American Factory
Between July 2025 and August 2026, 1872, Foundational Industries and Hadrian raised $1.41 billion to build autonomous American factories: $15 million, $25 million and $1.37 billion respectively, with Hadrian's four plants totalling just under 3 million square feet. Open Factory's Lead-Time Monitor will track each one's delivered lead time.

What Hyperscaler Nuclear PPAs Tell a Factory Negotiating a 15-Year Contract
Microsoft pays about $112 per MWh for 835 MW from the Crane nuclear restart on a 20-year contract, a 70 to 90% premium to wholesale, so Open Factory's Large-Load Cost Table treats that as the reference price for a 15-year factory power contract as of December 2025.

Datacenter Construction Is Eating Your Electricians
Loudoun County electrical contractor payrolls rose 138% from 5,615 people in 2019 to 14,022 in March 2026, while the national BLS median electrician wage rose 12.5% against 25.6% CPI from May 2019 to May 2025, per Open Factory's Large-Load Cost Table.

The 30% Fuel-Cell ITC Is the Last Federal Subsidy for On-Site Power
Since July 4, 2025, the 30% federal investment credit survives only for fuel cells among gas-fired on-site power, with wind and solar needing construction by July 4, 2026 and gas CHP getting nothing, and Open Factory's math turns a 2.5-year payback at $210/MWh in California into 1.7 years.

Introducing the Large-Load Cost Table: 15 Markets Side by Side
Open Factory's Large-Load Cost Table, version 0.1, compares a 50 MW connection across 15 US utilities on eight tariff cells each: 53 of the 120 cells come from primary documents, 20 from trade press, 2 from arithmetic, and 45 are not published anywhere, as of August 2026.